To recover permanently deleted files on Windows 10 or 11 for free, use PhotoRec — a free, open-source recovery tool included with the TestDisk package. Download it from cgsecurity.org, extract the zip, run qphotorec_win.exe, select the drive, choose your file formats, set a recovery destination on a different drive, and click Search. PhotoRec scans the raw disk and recovers files regardless of whether the Recycle Bin has been emptied.
Applies to: Windows 10 (22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2) | Last updated: April 23, 2026
Key Takeaways
- PhotoRec is completely free and can recover any file type — images, documents, executables, videos — with no paywall to unlock results.
- Always save recovered files to a different physical drive than the one you’re scanning. Writing to the same drive can overwrite the deleted data and make recovery impossible.
- Limit the file formats in PhotoRec to only what you need. Scanning for all formats takes much longer and produces thousands of unrelated files to sort through.
- The sooner you run recovery after deletion, the better. Every write to the drive (installing programs, saving files) reduces the chance of recovery. Stop using the affected drive immediately.
Quick Steps
- Download TestDisk/PhotoRec from cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download
- Extract the zip to a folder
- Run
qphotorec_win.exe(the graphical version) - Select the whole disk where files were deleted
- Click File Formats, reset the list, then select only the formats you need
- Set a recovery destination on a different drive
- Click Search and wait for the scan to complete
- Check the recovery folder for your files
Why Deleted Files Can Be Recovered
When Windows deletes a file — even after emptying the Recycle Bin — it doesn’t immediately overwrite the data on the disk. It simply marks the space as available for future use and removes the file’s entry from the file system table. The actual bytes of the file remain on the drive until something else is written to that location.
PhotoRec takes advantage of this by ignoring the file system entirely and scanning the raw sectors of the disk, looking for known file signatures (headers that identify file types like JPEG, PDF, DOCX). This is why it can recover files even from formatted drives or corrupted file systems — and why acting quickly matters. Every new file written to the drive potentially overwrites another recoverable sector.
How to Download and Launch PhotoRec
PhotoRec comes bundled with TestDisk in the same download package. Go to cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download and download the Windows 64-bit version (choose the WinCDR version — the installer, not the source code). The download comes as a zip file.
Extract the zip to any folder (your Downloads folder is fine). Inside the extracted folder, look for qphotorec_win.exe — this is the graphical interface version. Double-click it to launch. The other file, photorec_win.exe, opens a command-line interface; it works too, but the graphical version is much easier to use.
Important: Do not install or extract PhotoRec onto the same drive you are trying to recover files from. If you deleted files from your C: drive, extract PhotoRec to a USB drive or a second internal drive instead.
How to Configure PhotoRec for Recovery
When PhotoRec opens, the main window shows a list of drives detected on your system. Select the whole disk that contains the deleted files — if you have multiple drives, identify the correct one by size. Click on it to select it.
Next, click File Formats. By default, PhotoRec recovers every file type it recognizes — hundreds of formats. This makes scans very slow and produces an overwhelming number of results. I recommend clicking Reset to deselect everything, then manually tick only the formats you need (for example, jpg for photos, pdf for documents, docx for Word files). This narrows the scan considerably and saves hours.
Setting the Recovery Destination
Before scanning, set where recovered files will be saved. Click the folder icon in the destination field and browse to a location on a different physical drive from the one you are scanning. Saving to the same drive risks overwriting the very data you are trying to recover.
Good destinations include an external USB hard drive, a USB flash drive, or a second internal drive. Create a new folder there (e.g., PhotoRec_Recovery) and select it as the destination. PhotoRec will create numbered subfolders inside it as it works.
Running the Recovery Scan
With the drive selected, file formats chosen, and destination set, click Search. PhotoRec begins scanning the raw sectors of the disk. The progress bar shows how far through the scan it is, and a file counter shows how many files have been recovered so far.
Scan time depends on drive size and the number of formats selected. A 500 GB drive scanning for a handful of formats might take 30–60 minutes. A full scan of a 2 TB drive with all formats can run for many hours. You can browse the recovery folder while the scan is still running — files are written there in real time, so you may find what you need before it finishes.
Tip: PhotoRec cannot preserve original file names. Recovered files are named by type and a sequential number (e.g.,
f0000123.jpg). Sorting by date modified in the recovery folder helps narrow down which files are the ones you were looking for.
Checking Your Recovered Files
Once the scan completes (or while it’s running), open the recovery destination folder. PhotoRec creates subfolders like recup_dir.1, recup_dir.2, etc. Open them and look for your files. If you recovered images, you can use a fast thumbnail viewer to scan through them quickly. Most file types will open normally with their associated apps.
Not every recovered file will be intact. Files that had their sectors partially overwritten may be corrupted. Images may be truncated, documents may have missing pages. The more time that passed between deletion and recovery, the more overwriting may have occurred.
For ongoing protection against data loss, consider using password-protected encrypted folders for sensitive files and keeping a regular backup to an external drive. Recovery tools like PhotoRec are a last resort — they’re impressive, but not guaranteed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can PhotoRec recover files from a formatted drive?
Yes. PhotoRec ignores the file system and scans raw sectors, so it can recover files from drives that have been quick-formatted. A full format (which overwrites every sector) significantly reduces recovery chances, but a quick format — which only clears the file table — still leaves most data recoverable.
Can I recover files from a USB drive or external hard drive?
Yes. As long as the USB drive or external hard drive is recognized by Windows, PhotoRec can scan it. Select it from the drive list in PhotoRec’s main window and proceed exactly as you would for an internal drive.
Why did PhotoRec recover so many files I don’t recognize?
PhotoRec recovers every matching file signature it finds on the drive — including fragments from programs, system files, browser cache, and files deleted years ago. This is why limiting file formats to only what you need is important. It reduces the noise and makes it much easier to find the specific files you’re looking for.
What if my files still aren’t there after the scan?
If PhotoRec couldn’t find your files, the most likely explanation is that the sectors were overwritten by new data after deletion. This is especially common if you continued using the computer heavily after realizing files were missing. At that point, the data is genuinely gone and no software can recover it.
Do I need to install PhotoRec?
No. PhotoRec is a portable application — just extract the zip and run qphotorec_win.exe directly. Nothing installs to your system. This is actually an advantage when recovering from your main C: drive, since you can run it from a USB drive without writing anything to the drive you’re trying to recover.
